{"id":69,"date":"2012-04-02T06:26:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-02T06:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/100.42.52.148\/~klaaskid\/blog\/?p=69"},"modified":"2018-04-04T19:57:57","modified_gmt":"2018-04-05T02:57:57","slug":"sierra-lamar-anatomy-of-a-search-day-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.klaaskids.org\/blog\/sierra-lamar-anatomy-of-a-search-day-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Sierra LaMar: Anatomy of a Search Day 6"},"content":{"rendered":"
On the Other Side<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
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T<\/span>his routine is familiar. I woke up at 6AM, prepared to make a long drive to a search center that promises an even longer day. Media trucks are parked outside, but our family is not the one they\u2019re looking to hound now. A long line forms outside with volunteers eager to help. Most are not familiar faces, but their presence is calming. The emotions that come with every search are difficult for me to comprehend \u2013 filled with anxiety, but unbeatable hope, exhaustion but perseverance. But this time, I\u2019m on the other side. I\u2019m a volunteer – one of the many- simply looking to make even an ounce of difference in the effort to bring Sierra home.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhatever it takes\u201d, I tell myself – the same phrase I repeated in my head over and over when Michelle went missing last May.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span>The first time I met Sierra\u2019s family, I was speechless. What is there to say that would suffice? They are facing a nightmare every minute of the day; they wake up each morning wondering where Sierra is and every night hoping Sierra is alive, fed, safe, warm, trying to find her way back. And on top of all of that, they have to use whatever brain power they have left to coordinate a national effort to bring Sierra home. \u00a0I came to the LaMars\u2019 searches knowing that it has only been six months since I faced the same emotions, fought with the same demons \u2013 hoping that I would be strong enough now to help others be strong.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span>And now I remember. I remember that searches give you an acute sense of how many compassionate people exist – their hearts big enough to give love to people they have never met.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span>It amazes me every time. Today, more than 650\u00a0volunteers of all ages to came to Morgan Hill to help search, flier and promote fundraising efforts. <\/strong>70 search\u00a0teams were dispatched, extending the search radius to 20 miles from Sierra\u2019s home. \u00a0Teenagers helped make signs and tie bows. Restaurants, grocery stores donated large amounts of food and water. The most passionate volunteers found themselves in significant roles within the Search for Sierra \u2013 whether that be making phone calls or braving poison oak as searchers.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span>At searches, everyone is working toward something much, much bigger than themselves. And despite the ugliness that surrounds Sierra\u2019s disappearance, searches remind you that there remains so much good in the world.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span>I am in awe of the community that is pulling together for Sierra. I hope this sends a loud, clear message to the abductors, sex offenders, human traffickers, perpetrators, kidnappers, murderers and rapists \u2013 that they will not and cannot take our loved ones without a fight. That, if you take one of ours, we are not staying silent.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span>From what I have learned, Sierra is a fighter \u2013 always sticking up for her friends, speaking her mind, relentlessly showing her loved ones that she cares for them. So, I pray that her community continues to show up for her the way she would for all of them. Together, we can and will bring Sierra home \u2013 whatever it takes.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the Other Side his routine is familiar. I woke up at 6AM, prepared to make a long drive to a search center that promises an even longer day. Media trucks are parked outside, but our family is not the one they\u2019re looking to hound now. A long line forms outside with volunteers eager to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[180,4,175],"tags":[558,564,473,561],"class_list":["post-69","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-krystine-dinh","category-missing-children","category-sierra-lamar","tag-find-sierra-search-center","tag-krystine-dinh","tag-michelle-le","tag-sierra-lamar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.klaaskids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.klaaskids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.klaaskids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.klaaskids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.klaaskids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.klaaskids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3379,"href":"https:\/\/www.klaaskids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69\/revisions\/3379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.klaaskids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.klaaskids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.klaaskids.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}